Introduction
What is Social Value? In business, it's the measurement of customer behavior and impact through several socially-influenced metrics such as social network shares and page views.
Here's a simple example of what Social Value is: A new paid mobile app has launched for $1.99, and you've just downloaded it. As a fan of the app, you let friends and family know about it on Facebook and Twitter - and chances are that they'll try it out based on your recommendation and social sharing. The Social Value is how much you money you helped contribute to the app's bottom line with purchases, through these social and sharing efforts.
Measuring True Total Value
To find the "True Total Value", the Social Value is combined with the "LTV" or Lifetime Value (which is how much behavior you can expect from a person, usually in dollars, before they quit investing in your business or product).
For example, imagine a person has an LTV of $43 (how much they're expected to spend), and that same person has a social value of $53 thorough interaction with their friends that causes them to spend $53. $43 LTV + $53 Social Value = $96 True Total Value.
The True Total Value is important because it can give you a better estimate on how customers will affect your bottom line, all thanks to the increasing popularity of analytics and Big Data. You can then take this data as a whole (or break it down) to target your customers in specific ways, and change your business accordingly.
Finding Social Whales
Once you can find the Social Value, LTV and True Total Value of customers through a variety of metrics, you can start finding out who your "Social Whales" are - which are some of your most important customers. Social Whales are the people who spend the most money and time on your product or business, and who hold the most influence.
When Social Whales share, others share more - and when they buy, others buy. By understanding your user's social networks and spending habits, you can start targeting these Social Whales and determining what drives your company to success. Usually, Social Whales will comprise of 10% of your total users, but 10-40% of your total spending.
Ninja Metrics, a Social Analytics engine, created the Infographic below which provides more information on Social Value, LTV and True Total Value. What are some metrics that have helped you determine the most accurate Social Value, LTV and True Total Value?